South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has laid the keel for a 84,000 cbm Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) for its compatriot shipping company KSS Line.   This is the second LPG carrier HHI started building for KSS this month.   The ship, priced at KRW 91.4 billion (USD 76.7m), is due for delivery by the end of March 2017.   KSS inked a seven-year charter contract for the vessel with Japanese LPG importer GYXIS Corporation.   The company has been ...

South Korea’s shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries has been chosen as the preferred bidder to build up to three liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for its compatriot gas and power company SK E&S. HHI said that it expects to sign the construction agreement for the 180,000 cubic meter vessels during the first half of 2016, after final negotiations with SK E&S and the company’s subsidiary SK Shipping, which will operate the LNG carriers. The vessels will featu...

Chinese shipbuilders have continued to see dwindling new vessel orders in the first 11 months of this year as the industry is challenged by a prolonged slump. From January to November 2015, China’s shipyards recorded newbuilding orders with tonnage totalling 23.19m dwt, down 59.1% compared to the previous corresponding period, according to statistics released by China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (Cansi). In the first 11 months, the shipyards completed a combined new ves...

The first in a series of 27,500 cbm ‘Dragon’ class vessels ordered by Evergas, owner and operator of seaborne petrochemical and liquid gas transport vessels, is being delivered from the Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering (SOE) shipyard in China today. The ‘Dragon’ class ships are to be chartered by INEOS Europe for the transportation of ethane to Europe from the Mariner East project in the USA. The carriers are purpose built for the transportation of ethane, although they in addition can c...